Vandals deface Lata Mangeshkar’s residence

A refrain in the 1976 release Living Next Door to Alice must have brought alive many parties, but little would the band Smokie have thought that their song’s hit line would be used to deface property too.

There was a lot of concern, shock and outrage within Lata Mangeshkar’s family after DNA discovered and alerted them to the graffiti sprayed on the walls of Prabhu Kunj, their Pedder Road residence.

Usha Mangeshkar asked, “If vandals can go to this level, what is the guarantee of our safety? We are almost an all-woman family. It is scary to think that something like this can happen when, in fact, the government had announced that didi would be given adequate security.”

In February 2002, following intelligence inputs, then city police commissioner MN Singh had spoken of “enhanced security” for cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar. “They are national assets. We will do everything to protect them,” he had said.

Usha Mangeshkar said the family was working towards April 24 — Master Dinanath Mangeshkar’s death anniversary, when stalwarts from different disciplines are honoured. “We are in the thick of preparations; this has come as a rude jolt,” she said.

Actress-columnist Dolly Thakore who lives in the same block said, “This is yet another indication of the kind of times we live in, when nothing is sacred. Youngsters today have the money and freedom to do what they want without proper guidance. Be it this vandalism or the gruesome murder of a school child making headlines, both are essentially part of the same decline all over.”

After DNA called the Gamdevi police, senior inspector Pradeep Lonankar sent a posse to investigate. “We will try to trace the culprits quickly and take stern action,” he said. After a panchnama, the society manager Rajesh Nabar got the graffiti painted over. “We do not want Lataji to be hurt seeing this when she steps out,” said Mahesh Rathod, a close associate of the family.